The IBM 3592 is a series of enterprise-class tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM. The first drive, having the IBM product number 3592, was introduced under the nickname Jaguar. The next drive was the TS1120, also having the nickname Jaguar. As of October 2023[update], the latest and current drive is the TS1170. The 3592 line of tape drives and media is not compatible with the IBM 3590 series of drives, which it superseded. This series can store up to 50 TB of data (uncompressed) on a tape cartridge and has a native data transfer rate of up to 400 MB/s. In August 2023 IBM announced the TS1170 tape drive with 50TB cartridges, more than 2.5 times larger than LTO-9 cartridges.

Like the 3590 and 3480 before it, this tape format has half-inch tape spooled onto 4-by-5-by-1-inch data cartridges containing a single reel. A take-up reel is embedded inside the tape drive.

Since TS1120 all drives include built-in encryption processing, with platform software (for example, z/OS Security Server) managing encryption keys. Prior drives require server-based software to encrypt and decrypt tapes.

Drives

Gen 1Gen 2Gen 3Gen 4Gen 5Gen 5AGen 6Gen 7Gen 8
Product Name3592TS1120TS1130TS1140TS1150TS1155TS1160TS1170TS1180
Product Code3592-J1A3592-E053592-E063592-E073592-E083592-55F (FC) 3592-55E (Ethernet)3592-60F3952-70F (FB) 3952-70S (SAS)TBA
Release date20032005200820112014201720182023TBA
Native/raw data capacity300 GB700 GB1 TB4 TB10 TB15 TB20 TB50 TB80 TB
Max uncompressed speed40 MB/s100 MB/s160 MB/s250 MB/s360 MB/s360 MB/s400 MB/s400 MB/s1000 MB/s
Compression capable?Yes (3:1)
WORM capable?Yes
Encryption capable?NoYes
LTFS capable?NoYes
Max. number of partitions1 (no partitioning)4

Notes

  • (See sections 2.5 and 2.6)

Cartridges

Unlike many other tape standards, the 3592 format allows an extensive reuse of cartridges already owned. Older generation tapes can be reformatted to higher capacities with every new drive generation, according to the table below. Cartridges are expected to operate in read-and-write mode across at least three drive generations, except in conjunction with technology leaps, e.g. the introduction of BaFe with JC cartridges or SrFe with JF. The observed media replacement rate in large archives is therefore lower than with most other standards.

Reformatting a cartridge means increasing its track density (only), as the linear bit density is limited by the tape coating. In the table below, a 'JA' type cartridge can be reformatted from 300 GB initially to 640 GB in the TS1130 drive. A later 'JB' type cartridge will carry 1 TB since its better coating also permits a higher linear bit density. Generally speaking, linear density is limited by material, semiconductor and signal processing technologies, whereas track density is limited by the servo technology that prevents track runout.

IBM 3592 tape cartridgesCapacity when formatted in
GenTypeCodeLength3592 J1ATS1120TS1130TS1140TS1150TS1155TS1160TS1170
1RWJA610 m300 GB500 GB640 GB
WORMJW610 m300 GB500 GB640 GB
RW, shortJJ246 m60 GB100 GB128 GB
WORM, shortJR246 m60 GB100 GB128 GB
2RWJB825 m700 GB1 TB1.6 TB
WORMJX825 m700 GB1 TB1.6 TB
3RWJC880 m4 TB7 TB7 TB7 TB
WORMJY880 m4 TB7 TB7 TB7 TB
RW, shortJK146 m500 GB900 GB900 GB900 GB
4RWJD1,072 m10 TB15 TB15 TB
WORMJZ1,072 m10 TB15 TB15 TB
RW, shortJL281 m3 TB3 TB3 TB
5RWJE1163 m20 TB
WORMJV1163 m20 TB
RW, shortJM320 m5 TB
6RWJF1,337 m50 TB

Notes

  • The TS1140 drive can read, but not write, to Gen 1 cartridges of any format, and Gen 2 cartridges in TS1120 format. It can read and write to Gen 2 cartridges in TS1130 format.
  • The TS1150, TS1155, & TS1160 drives cannot read or write to any Gen 1 or Gen 2 cartridges.
  • The TS1170 drive can only use Gen 6 (JF) cartridges. It does not support previous generation 3592 cartridges.

See also

External links